Merc....your first action, a line-item veto, might work in your kingdom but is unconstitutional in the US, at least the versions attempted since the Reagan days.
And I'm not sure what you mean by "allow businesses to grow" (cutting regs? which ones?) or "putting money back into the economy" (more tax cuts that cut more revenue from the Treasury?) That would create more debt.
IMO, the stimulus package was misdirected at an attempt to build broader consensus. Nearly two thirds were not really intended as stimulus (small personal tax cuts, funding for UI extension, COBRA assistance, etc). I would have separated those programs and put much more funding into short-term job creation with the understanding that creating jobs with govt funding leads to a growing economy that creates additional jobs.
And I agree with lamplighter about the banks. W/o the TARP program (most of which has been repaid), manyy more banks would have failed and credit would have tightened even more, causing more small businesses to fail.
There is a growing consensus among economists that the stimulus and TARP prevented the economy from tanking even more:
Economists agree: Stimulus created nearly 3 million jobs
The economy has stabilized as a result of several actions - TARP, ARRA, Fed policy .It is growing, but at a slower rate than anyone would like.
Is the stimulus program a failure? IMO, only in the sense that it did not go far enough.
But in any case, opinions are probably driven more by politics than economics.